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EXCLUSIVE: Stricken families say they want the Ministry of Defence to recognise the condition as the British Legion says it believes 30,000 may be suffering, By Grace Macaskill, Mirror UK 27 JAN 2019 British forces veterans suffering Gulf War Syndrome may have given it to their children.

New medical research has revealed troops who served in Iraq are more likely to have damage to DNA that could be passed on during reproduction.

Almost 75 per cent of the 53,000 UK soldiers there were given an anthrax vaccine. Many were also exposed to depleted uranium in some weapons.   Thousands reported a raft of disorders on their return home, including extreme fatigue, dizziness, strange rashes, nerve pain and memory loss – and the British Legion believes 30,000 may be suffering from the syndrome.

And more and more affected families are reporting that their children have developed terrifying symptoms of conditions that can be passed on genetically .

Now they are demanding the Ministry of Defence acts on the latest research and recognises Gulf War Syndrome.

One devastated ex-serviceman, Roger Needham, told us: “Gulf War Syndrome is being passed to our kids and I have to watch my daughter struggle every day.”

The daughter of another sick Iraq veteran – diagnosed with arthritis at 11 – said: “My immune system is on the floor and I’ve had a life of bad health. There’s no one in the wider family with this.”

And the wife of an ill soldier whose son and daughter have battled chronic illnesses told us: “We want answers.”

An ex-Government advisor on Gulf War illnesses, Prof Malcolm Hooper, backed the US findings. “Our soldiers were poisoned,” he said.

Their immune systems suffered a massive assault, along with the endocrine system which controls reproduction.

“Many of the immune-type symptoms they suffer now can be passed to children through germ cells. The Government must take this seriously.”

The American study, funded by the US Veterans Affairs department, will step up the pressure.

Dr Michael Falvo, lead researcher at the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, said the findings were the “first direct biological evidence”  Gulf War illness causes harm to the body.

“If DNA that is damaged or mutated comes from the sperm or eggs then it is possible for it to be passed on to children,” he said.

“We found veterans with Gulf War illness had greater mitochondrial DNA damage than those without. Mitochondria are the ‘power generators’ of cells, passed to offspring primarily via a fertilised egg.”

Roger, 51 – an ex-lance corporal with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps who developed chronic fatigue shortly after the conflict – said he welcomed the US findings and wants research done to force the Government to recognise the syndrome.

“Every day I have extreme fatigue and unexplained aches and pains,” said Roger, of Doncaster, who worked in ammo dumps.

“But seeing my daughter Emma sick with it is awful. Nothing like this has run in my family.”

Emma, 26, also suffers from chronic fatigue and struggles in her retail job.

Her mum Sue, 51, said: “She was conceived shortly after the war. She was always tired as she grew up. We took her to a paediatrician at 15.

……..“But seeing my daughter Emma sick with it is awful. Nothing like this has run in my family.”

Emma, 26, also suffers from chronic fatigue and struggles in her retail job.

Her mum Sue, 51, said: “She was conceived shortly after the war. She was always tired as she grew up. We took her to a paediatrician at 15.   When I said her dad served in the Gulf and had chronic fatigue he said it made sense to him. That’s when we started to think about the connection to Gulf War Syndrome.”

Roger added: “The Americans have recognised Gulf War illness so why can’t the MoD? I don’t think they will because of what it might cost them in payouts.”…….

Charities and ex- Army top brass are joining hundreds of families to demand a probe into the health of the 30,000 troops thought to be suffering.

Col Richard Kemp, an ex-chair of the COBRA Intelligence Group, said: “If soldiers feel children have developed signs of illness due to their service, it is the Government’s duty to investigate.” Maria Rusling, of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, said: “Veterans are worried what legacy they are leaving their children. We need a full investigation.”

A King’s College London study in 1999 found Gulf troops two to three times more likely to report 53 different symptoms compared to soldiers sent to Bosnia.

But the MoD has never officially recognised the condition.

An MoD spokesman said: “We have already sponsored significant research into the effects of this conflict on veterans and have no plans to conduct further studies.” https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/veterans-debilitating-gulf-war-syndrome-13911872